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Carlton's faith in “fantastic” father-son's lofty potential
Jaiden Sciberras • July 31st, 2026 3:18 pm
Carlton’s elite youth setup is only set to improve, with father-son prospect Cody Walker waiting in the wings ahead of this year’s National Draft.
And with just three months until Walker’s name is called, the Blues are preparing him for life in the AFL.
After committing to the Blues in 2025, Cody, son of Blues legend Andrew, played four matches with Carlton’s VFL setup, averaging 22 touches and six marks a game and more than looking the part at the level.
The Bendigo Pioneer and Vic Country talent was named in the Under-18’s All-Australian team after an exceptional National Championships, with the Blues growing increasingly confident in his ability to succeed at AFL level.
Cody was given the green light to return to his local club Echuca for one last local level match last weekend, with Carlton GM Chris Davies endorsing the return ahead of a huge offseason.
“We let him go back home for his last hurrah,” Davies told SEN Breakfast.
“It was a great thing for him to be able to go back.
“His local footy club has meant a lot to him, there’s such a connection from a family perspective, so it was great to give him that opportunity.
“Cody is going to be a great player in the future. He’s got to get through this next period of time and into the draft, and we’ve got to be in a position where we can select him.
“If he ends up on our list, he is going to be, I’m sure, a fantastic player for the Carlton footy club. I’ve got no doubt that he’s going to have a great AFL career ahead of him.”
Given Walker’s estimated selection within the top three of the upcoming draft, the Blues’ draft hand will play a significant factor in their recruitment process over the offseason.
Partnered with Davies’ dissatisfaction with the Blues’ current list and his desire to attack the draft, this summer makes for an intriguing watch at Ikon Park.
“We’ll be aggressive enough when you consider that we still think that our list needs some significant work,” Davies continued.
“We want to maintain our draft selections in order to be able to number one – match a bid on Cody, and number two – continue to hit the draft, hard.
“There are other mechanisms that we can use to bring players in; we will try and use the AFL’s free agency stuff to bring some people in, but ultimately, we also want to be bringing in the right people.
“The money that the club has got from a TPP (total player payments) perspective is not burning a hole in my pocket; I don’t feel the need to go out and spend it on players that we don’t think we ‘ll need into the future just to look like we’re bringing players in and to be active.
“In any trade period, you’ve got to make sure that you’re balancing this idea of motion versus actually getting to where you need to get when the time comes for you to be really good in this competition.
“We won’t do anything in a frivolous nature; we will try to do it in a considered fashion.
“If that means bringing a player or two in via free agency or the delisted stuff then we will do that, but ultimately, we want to be hitting the draft as hard as we can.”
The Blues will look to ready their assets ahead of the 2026 National Draft on Thursday, November 19.
